Huskers Travel To Toledo For Big Five Meet

No. 16 Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-3, 3-2 Big Ten) at Big Five Meet Featuring: No. 23 Illinois (6-4, 1-4 Big Ten), Ohio State (4-3, 2-3 Big Ten), Iowa (4-6, 1-4 Big Ten), Rutgers (4-6, 0-4 Big Ten)
Friday, Feb. 21, 6 p.m. CT -- Toledo, Ohio (Huntington Center) [8,000]
Live Scores: Elevatethestage.com
Stream: Flogymnastics.com (Subscription Required)

Lincoln, Neb. -- The No. 16 Nebraska women's gymnastics team travels to Toledo, Ohio for its Big Five meet against four Big Ten Conference opponents. The meet will take place on Friday, Feb. 21 at 6 p.m. and will be streamed live on Flogymnastics.com. 

The Huskers will take on No. 23 Illinois, Ohio State, Iowa and Rutgers in Toledo. The rest of the Big Ten's gymnastics programs will compete at the Huntington Center on Saturday. This meet will conclude the Big Ten regular season and will help determine the seedings for the Big Ten Championships in March.

Nebraska is looking to bounce back following a loss against No. 7 Minnesota on Feb. 16. At that meet, senior Taylor Houchin took home the vault event title with a score of 9.95. NU looks to add four conference victories to its resume at the Big Five meet.

NU enters this meet ranked No. 16 in the Road To Nationals poll, as well as No. 10 on vault, No. 12 on floor exercise, No. 20 on balance beam and No. 24 on uneven bars. Nebraska is the third-highest ranked Big Ten program behind No. 7 Minnesota and No. 9 Minnesota. 

Houchin ranks No. 4 in the country on vault with an average score of 9.914 and a season-high of 9.975 on the event. Houchin recorded another stellar score on vault against Minnesota with a 9.95. Senior Sierra Hassel also ranks in the top 25 on an event, as she is ranked No. 16 on floor exercise with an average score of 9.896 with a high of 9.95 this season.

Following Nebraska's trip to Toledo, the Huskers will return to the Bob Devaney Sports Center for a meet against Missouri. The meet will take place on Saturday, March 7 at 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on BTN+.

NOTES:

NU RANKED NO. 16 IN THE NATION
Nebraska is currently ranked No. 16 in the Road To Nationals poll, as well as No. 10 on vault and No. 12 on floor exercise. NU's No. 16 ranking and 196.154 average team score is third in the Big Ten Conference, behind No. 7 Minnesota and No. 9 Michigan.

HUSKERS RANKED IN THE TOP-25 ON ALL EVENTS
Nebraska is ranked No. 10 on vault, No. 12 on floor exercise, No. 20 on balance beam and No. 24 on uneven bars. The Huskers hold averages of 49.139 on vault, 49.225 on floor, 48.918 on beam and 48.871 on bars.

HOUCHIN & HASSEL RANKED ON INDIVIDUAL EVENTS
Senior Taylor Houchin ranks No. 4 in the country on vault with an average score of 9.914 and a season-high of 9.975 on the event. Senior Sierra Hassel also ranks in the top 25 on an event, as she is ranked No. 16 on floor exercise with an average score of 9.896 with a high of 9.95 this season.

HUSKERS PICKED THIRD IN BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL
Nebraska was selected third in the Big Ten preseason coaches' poll ahead of the 2020 season. In 2019, NU finished third in the Big Ten regular season standings behind Michigan and Minnesota, who place above NU in the preseason poll. Ohio State and Iowa round out the top five. 

STRONG SCHEDULE IN 2020
NU will face seven teams ranked in the national preseason coaches' poll top 25 in 2020, including meets with No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Denver, No. 14 Minnesota, No. 16 Missouri, No. 23 BYU, No. 24 Ohio State and No. 25 Penn State.

HOUCHIN, DE JESUS NAMED GYMNASTS TO WATCH
The conference announced that senior Taylor Houchin and sophomore Adnerys De Jesus were selected as Big Ten Women's Gymnasts to watch for the 2020 season. Houchin was named a NACGC/W regular reason second-team All-American on uneven bars and was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2019. De Jesus was named a second-team All-Big Ten pick after an impressive freshman season in 2019. 

UP NEXT
Following Nebraska's trip to Toledo, the Huskers will return to the Bob Devaney Sports Center for a meet against Missouri. The meet will take place on Saturday, March 7 at 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on BTN+.

STRONG SENIOR CLASS LEADS HUSKERS
The Huskers welcome back two standout seniors, All-American and WCGA Academic All-American Taylor Houchin and First-Team All-Big Ten and WCGA Academic All-American Sierra Hassel. Houchin concluded the 2019 campaign with solo competition at the NCAA Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas after tying her career high on vault with a 9.975 at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional. Hassel is coming off a career high year as well where she posted career highs on balance beam and floor exercise with scores of 9.975 and 9.925, respectively. NU will rely heavily on their two veteran seniors throughout the 2020 season.

HUSKERS INTRODUCE TRIO OF 2020 SIGNEES
Head Coach Heather Brink announced the signing of three future Husker gymnasts to the 2020 women's gymnastics signing class. Caroline Williams (Roswell, GA), Chloe Lorange (Laval, Quebec) and Kinsey Davis (Cornelius, NC) have signed their letters of intent and will join the roster for Nebraska women's gymnastics' 2021 season.

CORNHUSKERS GROW ACROSS UNITED STATES AND BEYOND
Nebraska features gymnasts from 10 states: California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey and Texas. The Huskers also welcome their first international gymnast since 2011, Clara Colombo of Italy. Colombo will become the first Italian-born gymnast to compete in NCAA competition.